"We don’t have any evidence of genocide being created," Austin said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing focused on President Joe Biden's latest budget request.
Asked by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., whether that means Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza, Austin said again, “We don’t have evidence of that.”
The accusation is absurd, which is why Cotton forced the issue in the hearing. Even if one accepts the death toll produced by Hamas (which do not distinguish between civilians and their forces) as well as the numbers from the IDF on dead Hamas operatives, the ratio of civilian deaths is around 2:1 or 3:1 at worst. The usual figure for urban combat is much higher. Israel is attempting to minimize civilian casualties; Hamas is trying to ramp them up.
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